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arXiv:2303.00239 · Review of Scientific Instruments

Self-calibrated atom-interferometer gyroscope by modulating atomic velocities

Honghui Chen, Zhan-Wei Yao, Ze-Xi Lu, Si-Bin Lu, Min Jiang, Shao-Kang Li, Xiaoli Chen, Chuan Dong Sun, Yin-Fei Mao, Yang Li, Runbing Li, Jin Wang, Mingsheng Zhan

Published May 1, 2024• 5 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Atom-interferometer gyroscopes have attracted much attention for their long-term stability and extremely low drift. For such high-precision instruments, self-calibration to achieve an absolute rotation measurement is critical. In this work, we propose and demonstrate the self-calibration of an atom-interferometer gyroscope. This calibration is realized by using the detuning of the laser frequency to control the atomic velocity, thus modulating the scale factor of the gyroscope. The modulation determines the order and the initial phase of the interference stripe, thus eliminating the ambiguity caused by the periodicity of the interferometric signal. This self-calibration method is validated through a measurement of the Earth's rotation rate, and a relative uncertainty of 162 ppm is achieved. Long-term stable and self-calibrated atom-interferometer gyroscopes have important applications in the fields of fundamental physics, geophysics, and long-time navigation.

DOI
10.1063/5.0198240

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Atom-interferometer gyroscopes have attracted much attention for their long-term stability and extremely low drift. For such high-precision instruments, self-calibration to achieve an absolute rotation measurement is critical. In this work, we propose and demonstrate the self-calibration of an atom-interferometer gyroscope. This calibration is realized by using the detuning of the laser frequency to control the atomic velocity, thus modulating the scale factor of the gyroscope. The modulation determines the order and the initial phase of the interference stripe, thus eliminating the ambiguity caused by the periodicity of the interferometric signal. This self-calibration method is validated through a measurement of the Earth's rotation rate, and a relative uncertainty of 162 ppm is achieved. Long-term stable and self-calibrated atom-interferometer gyroscopes have important applications in the fields of fundamental physics, geophysics, and long-time navigation.
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Quantum sensors based on atom interferometers are advancing both fundamental physics and practical applications, with higher sensitivity being a key requirement for these investigations. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a sensitivity enhancement of an atom-interferometer gyroscope using a phase-modulation signal readout scheme. Phase modulation applied to the laser light used for atomic state manipulation is transferred to the atomic phase and read out via multi-harmonic demodulation. The observed sensitivity improvement factor of 1.20±0.041.20\pm0.041.20±0.04 over the conventional phase sweep scheme agrees with theoretical predictions. We also found that phase-dispersion compensation control, which compensates atomic velocity dispersion and preserves interference contrast at high angular rates, effectively eliminates the nonlinearity inherent in multi-harmonic demodulation. The sensitivity improvement achieved by our method is applicable to a broad class of atom interferometers and requires no modifications to the optical or vacuum systems, making it particularly effective for size-constrained applications such as large-baseline experiments and inertial navigation systems.
We demonstrate a cold-atom interferometer gyroscope which overcomes accuracy and dynamic range limitations of previous atom interferometer gyroscopes. We show how the instrument can be used for precise determination of latitude, azimuth (true north), and Earth's rotation rate. Spurious noise terms related to multiple-path interferences are suppressed by employing a novel time-skewed pulse sequence. Extended versions of this instrument appear capable of meeting the stringent requirements for inertial navigation, geodetic applications of Earth's rotation rate determination, and tests of general relativity.
High-precision gyroscopes in space are essential for fundamental physics research and navigation. Due to its potential high precision, the cold atom gyroscope is expected to be the next generation of gyroscopes in space. Here, we report the first realization of a cold atom gyroscope, which was demonstrated by the atom interferometer installed in the China Space Station (CSS) as a payload. By compensating for CSS's high dynamic rotation rate using a built-in piezoelectric mirror, spatial interference fringes in the interferometer are successfully obtained. Then, the optimized ratio of the Raman laser's angles is derived, the coefficients of the piezoelectric mirror are self-calibrated in orbit, and various systemic effects are corrected. We achieve a rotation measurement resolution of 50*10^-6 rad/s for a single shot and 17*10^-6 rad/s for an average number of 32. The measured rotation is (-1142+/-29)*10^-6 rad/s and is compatible with that recorded by the classical gyroscope of the CSS. This study paves the way for developing high-precision cold atom gyroscopes in space.
High-precision gyroscopes in space are essential for fundamental physics research and navigation. Due to its potential high precision, the cold atom gyroscope is expected to be one of the next generation of gyroscopes in space. Here, we report the first realization of a cold atom gyroscope, which was demonstrated by the atom interferometer installed in the China Space Station (CSS) as a payload. By compensating for the CSS's high dynamic rotation rate using a built-in piezoelectric mirror, spatial interference fringes in the interferometer are successfully obtained. Then, the optimized ratio of the Raman laser's angles is derived, the coefficients of the piezoelectric mirror are self-calibrated in orbit, and various systemic effects are corrected. We achieve a rotation measurement resolution of 50 μrad/s for a single shot and 17 μrad/s for an average number of 32. The measured rotation is -1142 ± 29 μrad/s and is compatible with that recorded by the classical gyroscope of the CSS. This study paves the way for developing high-precision cold atom gyroscopes in space.
A rotation-rate sensor was developed using atom interferometry and the Sagnac effect for matter waves. This device has a short-term sensitivity of 6× 10−10 rad/sec for a 1 second integration time, which is the best publicly reported value to date. It has high intrinsic accuracy because it relies on interactions between atoms and laser light that is stabilized to an atomic transition. Long-term stability is promising and characterization is currently underway. Potential applications include inertial navigation, geophysical studies, and general relativity tests such as verification of the Lense-Thirring and geodetic effects. The principle of operation is as follows: A thermal cesium atomic beam crosses three laser interaction regions where two-photon stimulated Raman transitions between cesium ground states transfer momentum to atoms and divide, deflect, and recombine the atomic wavepackets. Rotation induces a phase shift between the two possible trajectories and causes a change in the detected number of atoms with a particular internal state. Counterpropagating atomic beams form two interferometers using shared lasers for common-mode rejection, and the rotation phase shifts have opposite sign since the phase shift is proportional to the vector velocity of the atoms. Therefore, subtracting or adding the interferometer signals discriminates between rotation and transverse acceleration summed with laser arbitrary phase. Furthermore, in the inertial reference frame of the atoms, rotations Doppler-shift the Raman lasers. Adding Raman frequency shifts to cancel these Doppler-shifts allows operation at an effective zero rotation rate, improving sensitivity and bandwidth. Modulating these frequency shifts facilitates sensitive lock-in detection readout techniques.